SpiceJet's international plans delayed by three months

SpiceJet's international plans delayed by three months: "The airline became eligible to fly internationally from May 23. Any Indian airline which completes five years of flying in the domestic network and has a fleet of 20 aircraft is eligible to fly internationally."

The international plans of New Delhi-registered low-cost carrier, SpiceJet, have been delayed by three months till August.

“We had earlier planned to start our international operations from June, which could not work out for various reasons. Now, we plan to start our international operations from August,” Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Agarwal told Business Standard.

The airline plans to start with one flight per day to Dhaka from August and follow it up with one flight per day to Kathmandu from September.

SpiceJet has recently received permission to operate flights to the capital cities of Nepal, Bangladesh and Maldives. It has also applied for permission to fly to Colombo, which was turned down by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

“We do not have a fixed timeline for starting our services to Maldives. The plan will start only when we receive the delivery of new planes,” Agarwal said.

The airline, which is to take the delivery of three aircraft this financial year, is due to receive two airplanes by the end of this calendar year and the third in February 2011.

The airline became eligible to fly internationally from May 23. Any Indian airline which completes five years of flying in the domestic network and has a fleet of 20 aircraft is eligible to fly internationally.

Agarwal also said the airline planned to fly internationally so that it could increase the utilisation of its fleet. Its fleet utilisation was at 12.5 hours, which it planned to increase by two hours after it started international operations.

The airline had earlier announced that its fares in the international sector would be around 15 per cent less than its competitors.

SpiceJet will be the country’s first low-cost airline to fly abroad, if one excludes Air India Express — part of Air India and a low-cost, short-haul operator which only operates abroad. GoAir, the other low-cost carrier completing five years of flying in India, has no plans to fly abroad and has only eight aircraft.

Paramount Airways also completes five years in 2010 and aims to fly abroad from August, but it has only five aircraft, way below the minimum requirement of 20.

IndiGo, which completes five years of flying in India in August next year and has a fleet of 25 aircraft now, has also applied to the ministry for permission to start international operations.

Among the three listed airlines, SpiceJet became the only airline to make profit in the last financial year. It made a profit of Rs 61 crore for the first time since its inception and has also registered an increase of over 34 per cent in passenger revenues.

Air Partner makes empty legs available online

Air Partner makes empty legs available online: "Aircraft broker Air Partner has launched a website that features real-time empty leg availability on private jets. Those visiting the website will be able to search for private jets by sector and aircraft at prices up to 75% lower than conventional charter rates, says the UK-based company.
'Air Partner Empty Sectors provides clients with an at-a-glance range of hundreds of currently available flight options and also allows them to submit specific route and date requests,' it says.
'Previously we provided a competitively priced empty leg service on request, but this new development makes for a far smoother experience for clients seeking real-time information. It should also help reduce the number of 'empty' aircraft by making sensible use of their movements.'
The service is aimed at business and leisure travellers and uses software provided by Avinode."

Mitsubishi to complete MRJ design by end-August

Mitsubishi to complete MRJ design by end-August: "Mitsubishi to complete MRJ design by end-August"

Dornier Seaplane picks final assembly site for Seastar amphibian

Dornier Seaplane picks final assembly site for Seastar amphibian: "Dornier Seaplane picks final assembly site for Seastar amphibian"

Dornier Seaplane is planning to break ground next year on a final assembly facility in Montreal for its Seastar twin-engined amphibious turboprop.

After several months of deliberation, the Punta Gorda, Florida-based start-up plumped for the suburb of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu as the manufacturing site for its all-composite, Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-135-powered aircraft.

The decision was based on several factors, Dorniersays, including "the strong federal, provincial and local government support for aerospace; the local aviation supply chain, including P&WC; the skilled aerospace labour pool within the area; and its proximity to Lake Champlain with its uncongested airspace for demonstration and production flight-test activities".

Dornier Seaplane chief executive Joe Walker says: "Now that we have achieved this milestone, we are anxious to get started. We hope to finish building the assembly facility in the third quarter of next year and deliver the first aircraft in 2012. The supplier selection process should also be completed within 12 months."

The 10-seat Seastar was unveiled in the early 1980s and had secured European and US certification before production stopped in 1991 because of a lack of funding.

Dornier Seaplane has received 25 letters of intent for the $6 million aircraft, which it is in the process of converting into firm orders. "Given that this is the worst economic downturn that the industry has experienced we are encouraged by the market response to the aircraft," Walker says.

Dornier is targeting four sectors - commercial operators that would use the aircraft for island hopping, oil companies for offshore crew transport, governments for special mission operations and high-net-worth individuals.

Production rates will climb gradually from one aircraft in 2012, six in 2013 and 12 in 2014. Full production could reach up to 50 Seastars a year, depending on demand for the niche product, Walker says. The first 10 aircraft will be delivered in the Seastar's original round dial configuration and subsequent aircraft will be upgraded with a glass cockpit, known icing, autopilot and air conditioning - which can be retrofitted at a later date.

The company is set to begin recruiting for senior production management positions and plans to hire 250 people for final assembly jobs and 200 for fabrication work over the next five years.